Multiverse Navigator
by Gancena
Summary: Self-Insert. In one place, a fan of Smash gets a weird app on her phone. In another, fighters find themselves slipping in and out of battle. In both places, nothing will be the same again.
1. The Day It Happened

The morning of the day that it happened, Gancena had woken up not expecting much of _anything_ to happen. After all, she had a routine, even if she had mixed feelings about said routine. Structure and expectation were grounding and safe, but, well…

Gancena was twenty-five years old and, for honest lack of a better word, a NEET—not in education, employment, or training. After gritting through high school, she'd tried all three in some form, and every time, some form of existential anxiety ultimately built up way too much and got the better of her. Her parents understood this, and let her continue to live with them.

Life was pretty okay. With nothing to do but look after the dogs, take walks in the neighborhood, and browse the Internet, it was far more ordinary than she'd dreamed, but she'd long since decided she'd rather be bored than stressed out in a bad way. In her mind, there were plenty of good stresses: fighting a tough boss, completing that errand in that game before time ran out, aching through the sad parts of a story to get to the beautiful ending. She could go on.

If she were asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would nowadays consistently answer with "An interdimensional hero." And if she were asked what she meant, she'd say "A hero who travels between worlds." If she were asked to elaborate, she'd basically tell you about all the stories she'd ever written and some of the parts that were still only in her head. She could go _on_.

But the morning of the day that it happened, Gancena wasn't expecting that dream to actually come true. At least not on that day. Someday, certainly, ideally after she'd received a clear sign that it was going to happen.

She got that sign, at least.

* * *

It was pretty lucky, really. Gancena had multiple games on her phone. Very naturally, one of them was Pokémon GO. The day before, she'd found a Raid Battle that she could actually get to. As it turned out, there were others there, too, coordinating via a chat app. After the battle, Gancena was invited to that group, allowing her to know about all the Raid Battles in her county with just a few taps.

She hadn't had the app before, but she knew she was going to use it. She wanted to move it next to all her games. But she had a routine to finish first.

And it had changed a bit, recently. It was heavily centered around the care of two precious little dogs—Mom was often up by the time they woke up, so she gave them breakfast. But Gancena was in charge of walking them and making sure they stayed out of trouble while Mom continued to mind the house and her businesses. The pups napped through the early afternoon, and Gancena and her mom had begun to use that time for some yoga—chosen for its relative ease on the body, considering they didn't exercise regularly, and Gancena had also taken to walking a full mile to the front of her neighborhood to take advantage of the PokéStop there.

Both had only started over a week before, and Gancena was already reaping benefits. She felt better—physically and mentally—than she had even a month prior.

She hoped it would only be upward from there.

* * *

It happened in her bedroom that night, after the sweet little dogs had been put in their crates for the night. Gancena's room was decently sized, each wall lined with furniture: a desk with her laptop and an extra shelf by her door, taller shelves and the window across from that, and two dressers and her bed lined up on the other walls.

She had an extensive collection of video games and their merchandise. While the bigger consoles were kept in the basement with the really good TV, she'd taken to keeping her Switch up here. Bless Nintendo. She also had her 3DS up here, with the design from Fire Emblem Fates on it. She kept it charged on her dresser next to literal stacks of boxed figurines. The 3DS games had their own shelf cubbies by her desk. Pokémon plushes overflowed from some of the top shelves at the back, and she shared her bed with even more plushes, most of which were Five Nights at Freddy's, some of which were Pokémon, the rest of which had various game origins. A spare set of Five Nights at Freddy's bedding sat by a coat rack between one of the tall shelves and one of the dressers. The set on her bed was mismatched, with a zebra stripe mattress cover and sheet with a floral comforter.

It was a little messier than she would have liked, too. Mostly, she wanted to vacuum the carpet, but the bed being perpetually unmade and a couple books, plushes too big for shelves or the bed, her old college backpack, her purse, and her rolled-up yoga mat being strewn around the floor was completely normal. It'd be cleared for a moment whenever she got around to vacuuming anyway.

But Gancena wasn't actively thinking about cleaning her room. She was sitting at her desk messing around in her mobile games when she finally remembered to move the chat app to the same page like she wanted.

So she returned to the home screen on her phone and swiped over to the page the app was on. There, next to it, was an even newer app with a very familiar logo: A rainbow-colored circle cut into uneven quarters. It was labeled "Multiverse Navigator."

Gancena stopped. She definitely didn't download that. What was it and why did it look like the Smash Ball? Was this… something just for her?

To eliminate any other explanations, Gancena went to her phone's app store and entered the app's name. The only result she got was a mobile TV app. She turned to her laptop and searched for the same thing. She found several professional online profiles, but none of them seemed to have anything to do with the app.

Then she added Super Smash Brothers to her search. Virtually all of the results were about the games, sometimes outright crossing out the words "Multiverse Navigator".

Excitement built in her stomach, tingling through her limbs. This might have been it. This might have been that which would start the adventure she'd been dreaming of for over half her life. It had to be. Something very similar had kicked off the plot in a recent game Gancena had played, and she had asked for a clear sign that she was about to have the adventure of her life, and this was about as clear as a cloudless day!

But should she tap the app now or try to prepare before she did anything?

Gancena took a deep breath and tapped. The Super Smash Brothers logo briefly enlarged before it faded to what appeared to be an empty map, with nothing but a marker in the center of the screen.

A box of text appeared, saying:

 _Welcome to the Multiverse Navigator. With this, you can find and travel between small rips in the fabric of space-time that connect otherwise separate universes._

 _ **Continue**_

Gancena tapped. A circle came around the marker and another box appeared.

 _This is your current location. Whenever you use the Multiverse Navigator, a rip will appear in the place you transported from. Once created, these rips cannot be repaired. While it's possible to make rips in multiple locations, it is strongly recommended to pick only one place to create a rip and mark it as home. You will be given this option upon your first use of the Navigator._

 _ **Continue**_

Then a tab at the bottom of the screen labeled "Maps" was highlighted.

 _Tap here to examine the maps of all worlds you have access to via rips._

Gancena tapped it. Multiple small maps appeared, each labeled not with a name, but a symbol—symbols Gancena recognized.

 _From here, you may select which world you wish to go to and examine all of its rips. Rips that are safe to access will be purple. Unsafe rips are grayed out. Rips that are occupied by others are red._

 _ **Continue**_

 _You may notice that some of these maps are actually different regions of the same world. They are grouped a certain way for quicker reference. For now, tap the Mushroom Kingdom. You should already know which it is._

Gancena swallowed and tapped the mushroom symbol.

The app zoomed in on what appeared to be a bird's-eye silhouette of a small house and the immediate surrounding area. What looked like a purple cut was just in front of the porch steps.

 _Tap the rip._

Gancena did so.

 _Use this rip? You will be able to return to this location anytime._

 _ **Yes No**_

Gancena realized she still had a moment _and_ a chance to come back home. _Yes!_ She briefly placed her phone on her desk and began to scramble around her room.

* * *

On an adorable set of pastel platforms in the skies above Yoshi's Island with a pleasant rendition of Yoshi's theme to match, Pikachu appeared from a Poké Ball on one side and Donkey Kong burst out of a barrel on the other side as a deep voice counted down from three.

They had never seen each other or this place before. They'd never been in battle like this before.

And yet both of them knew exactly what they needed to do and how they were supposed to do it.

Donkey Kong let himself fall from the platform he was on. Pikachu took one jump, sending several Thundershocks ahead of himself. Donkey Kong took them all, only briefly twitching and slowing down. He began to spin his punching arm, but Pikachu let out a smash attack to interrupt before grabbing and throwing him towards the edge. Donkey Kong only flew mere inches before trying to grab Pikachu, only to be met with his shield.

A capsule dropped on the opposite end of the stage. Donkey Kong rolled past Pikachu to grab it. Pikachu released his shield as Donkey Kong threw it, hitting Pikachu in the face and almost knocking him to the edge of the stage. Out came a Star Rod, which Pikachu grabbed while Donkey Kong finished winding up his punch.

Pikachu swung the Star Rod and sent Donkey Kong back briefly, but he leaped to the highest platform, making Pikachu follow, swinging the rod again and missing. Donkey Kong began a Hand Slap on the ground, sending Pikachu backwards and onto the lower platform.

Pikachu ran to the center of the stage and called upon Thunder, striking Donkey Kong and sending him to the lower platform on the opposite side. Pikachu charged forward, leaping forward with the Star Rod. Donkey Kong retaliated with another smash attack. Pikachu flew back, releasing the Star Rod, and Donkey Kong ran forward.

Then Donkey Kong unleashed his Giant Punch and sent Pikachu flying off the stage far too fast for him to do anything about it. With a shout, Pikachu was knocked out of bounds.

This game's winner was Donkey Kong.

* * *

Gancena's rush for an adventuring ensemble started by choosing an outfit. The black and white basketball shorts and purple socks she already had were okay, but she wanted to change her shirt from the worn college logo tee to something… better.

She flipped through lines of shirts in her closet, immediately deciding that a graphic t-shirt was a no-go. Too many questions. But what else did she have that would immediately convey her style? The purple shirt she wore in the story she wrote had tiny holes in its front, and the other one she found was too long and fancy for adventuring. She came across a gray top with a white pattern and was about to pull it out to see if it was what she wanted when she realized she still had plain gray shirts in her dresser. She pulled one out and changed immediately.

The next concern was equipment and supplies. Necessities wouldn't be much of an issue if she could just come home, but she didn't know exactly how long she'd be out. She looked in her purse, which was probably too fancy for this, and decided to keep her wallet, a stick of lip balm, two bottles of hand sanitizer, a packet of tissues, and a pair of sunglasses.

But then it struck her that she was still carrying character charms on that purse! _Romantic_ character charms! She couldn't bring those! Too many questions! But she couldn't stand the thought of taking them off, either… she glanced at the coat rack and immediately saw a plainer black shoulder satchel hanging there—no doubt only retired because Mom asked her to. Perfect! She yanked that off and filled it with her chosen contents.

Oh! A water bottle would be important. And maybe a snack, too. Those would be downstairs. Her shoes, too. Her mom, too.

Gancena froze exactly one step outside her door, stomach sinking. Mom.

Gancena had indeed decided a long time ago that she was still willing to take on an adventure if it meant never seeing her mom again, but… now that it was happening, she was hesitant. Mom would freak out if Gancena disappeared for too long. She'd call the police. She'd call Dad. She'd call the entire extended family and friends and whoever would listen to her heartbreak… But Mom also knew that it was how Gancena felt. Even if it hurt, Gancena had said it before in earshot of her, talking to therapists and lawyers and judges alike about it.

Gancena took a deep breath. She had to push that aside as much as she could.

But how was she supposed to say goodbye, even if it wasn't forever?

She went downstairs to the kitchen slowly. Mom was on the phone, back to Gancena, earbuds in place, speaking to one of their relatives. She wore gray dress-like pajamas and had her almost tiger-striped hair in a ponytail—highlights she'd been getting since Gancena was a kid. Gancena approached and touched her shoulder. Mom turned, smiled, and hugged her immediately, kissing her head.

Gancena took a moment to revel in it, squeezing Mom back, laying her head on her shoulder. Mom. Mom. _Mom._ This was what she treasured about Mom.

They let go and smiled at each other before Gancena turned to the pantry to get her water and a protein snack pack. When she exited, she turned away from the kitchen towards the other side of the stairs. She slipped her shoes on, a somewhat dirty white pair with a couple of lace bits missing, and returned upstairs. Mom wouldn't question it if Gancena didn't bring attention to it.

Gancena returned to her room and shut the door and went straight back to thinking of if she needed—or wanted—anything else. She figured she shouldn't overencumber herself. She had a backpack, but she knew that would look weird in certain worlds. Nor was she actually carrying much. The purse would be fine.

Should she bring her 3DS? It seemed appropriate enough. Should it carry Animal Crossing? Gancena immediately decided to swap it out with Super Smash Bros. Maybe it'd help, somehow… And if she was bringing her 3DS and her phone, she'd want to have their chargers, too. Of course, there was no telling when she'd be able to actually charge them, but it was important to have them.

Slipping the 3DS in her purse and zipping it closed, Gancena decided she was as ready as she'd ever be. Heck, if this really was her adventure starting, she was incredibly lucky she'd gotten a chance to prepare at all!

Gancena closed her laptop and shut off her lights, using the light of the phone to guide her back to the center of her room.

 _Use this rip? You will be able to return to this location anytime._

Gancena tapped "Yes".

And then it happened.


	2. Stranger Still

The world fluxed around Gancena, distorting everything but herself and her items. For a moment, everything around her went mostly dark, with shimmers of colors in the distance. Then the image of the sky above gained stars, and the ground below her turned to dirt. Then the fluctuations stopped.

The first thing she noticed was the adorable little house in front of her with a big wooden sign saying "MARIO" over the front door. His house. His and Luigi's house.

Her first instinct would have been to knock on the door, but it was already late at night. Then she looked back down at her phone to see if there was a new prompt. There was.

 _Congratulations on using your first rip! Set previous location as "Home?"_

 _ **Yes No**_

Gancena tapped "Yes."

 _Saving…_

 _Your previous location has been set as Home. You may tap Home anytime to return, but if you are not near an existing rip, a new one will be created._

A new tab appeared at the bottom of the screen reading "Roster."

 _Use this Navigator to find and fill out those who belong in a certain group of people. You should be able to recognize it._

The Roster tab was highlighted.

 _Tap here._

When Gancena did, eight distinct boxes with dark silhouettes appeared.

 _You may tap any square to remind yourself of who's who, if necessary. More information will be added when you fill roster slots._

 _Good luck._

The prompts vanished entirely, leaving Gancena on the Roster screen.

She did indeed recognize the silhouettes: the original eight of the Super Smash Brothers. And nothing else… what of the first hidden four? Why start with the first roster when the franchise was well over fifteen years old?

Why was _she_ being asked to basically recruit everyone?

Gancena glanced back up at the Mario Brothers' house. She supposed she could try knocking… hopefully they weren't already asleep, but even if they were, they were probably personable enough to excuse it.

Gancena took a deep breath, walked up the porch steps, and looked back down at the app. She tapped Mario's square curiously. It came to the top and center of the screen, the other seven fading away.

 _Mario_

 _Super Mario Bros._

The rest of the profile was filled with question marks. Gancena couldn't scroll anywhere.

Gancena went through the other seven—Donkey Kong, Link, Samus, Yoshi, Kirby, Fox, Pikachu—finding their profiles were just as barren, listing only their names and the game franchise they were from. Gancena looked back up at the door and decided there wasn't really anything else to do but knock and see what happened.

She took a deep breath and did so, a little more forcefully than she usually would've. She waited. Seconds went by and there was no response.

 _One more time and then I try something else,_ she decided.

She knocked a little harder and longer, sincerely hoping nobody was asleep. She counted to ten and still nothing had happened.

Chances were that no one was home, then. Surely one of the Mario Brothers would have heard a knock like that in a house that size. Gancena sighed and turned, stepping back off the porch. Now what?

Gancena fiddled around with the app some more, switching back to the Maps tab. She was located right next to the rip, as expected. She noticed a path going from the house into the nearby woods. She swiped along it, seeing where it went, and found that it went straight to one Toad Town, which itself sat very close to one Princess Peach's castle.

"A-ha!" Gancena exclaimed. Surely Princess Peach could help her locate Mario—and Luigi, too, if he and the other hidden Smash fighters appeared in the roster later. Even if it was late at night, she could return later. And it was probably a good idea to set up an extra rip there. Maybe.

Regardless, Gancena adjusted her shoulder bag and set on the road to Toad Town.

* * *

Over the molten rock that was once Planet Zebes, with a brave rendition of the Brinstar theme to match, Fox McCloud dropped down from an Arwing and Mario emerged from a pipe. They landed onto a floating stage with multiple platforms. A voice counted down from three.

They were told nothing, but they knew what to do.

They came at each other immediately with strong attacks. Fox was a bit faster, and when Mario recovered, he put up his shield against a smash attack and took the next opening to grab Fox and throw him towards the edge of the stage. Fox grabbed on immediately, jumped, and launched himself towards a higher platform with a Fire Fox.

Mario followed with a Super Jump Punch, knocking a couple quick hits on Fox as he passed through the platform.

A Ray Gun appeared with a subtle ping on the highest platform. Mario noticed it first and made a Super Jump Punch for it, grazing Fox on the way. Fox followed with a Fire Fox, knocking the Ray Gun out of Mario's hands right as he'd grabbed it. Fox immediately fired twice. The first hit. Mario rolled out of the way of the second one.

Fox turned, fired, approached Mario, and performed a Smash attack that sent Mario flying straight up.

With a cry, Mario flew into the distance until the point of his disappearance became a star in the sky.

The magma hadn't even started to rise.

This game's winner was Fox.

* * *

Gancena entered Toad Town and was pleasantly surprised to find quite a few of the people still out and about, even with most shops closed and only some houses with lights on. But the lights were definitely on at Princess Peach's castle, so tall, regal, practically glowing. Even from across the moat, the stained glass portrait of the princess shone beautifully.

Gancena felt a tug at her heart. She hadn't really stopped to let the gravity of her situation sink in, but she also felt there wasn't time just yet. But she still stared at that portrait until she happened to pass by a pair of Toads walking the opposite direction.

One said: "I saw Luigi run through here earlier, but he looked upset. Went straight for the castle without even stopping."

Gancena turned and looked, catching the other saying "What do you think it was about?"

She could hear that the first Toad was responding, but they were too far away for her to make anything else out. At any rate, Gancena was a little more confident in her decision to go that way.

Two more Toads, in guard uniform and holding spears, stood at either side of the castle bridge. Gancena stopped. "Hello."

"Good evening. Have you any business with the Princess?" one asked.

"Nothing scheduled, I'm afraid. But I'd heard Luigi came through here looking upset and, uh… I was wondering if it was connected to something I'd been asked to do."

The guard quirked a brow. "How so?"

"Well…" Gancena pulled her phone back out of her bag and pulled up Mario's information. "Take a look," she said, holding her phone out.

The Toads came closer and looked. "Mario?"

"But it's empty?"

"Yeah. This app—program said I need to look for people represented," she said, tapping back to the main Roster tab, "on this page. I'm not entirely sure why, but if I can't ask Mario about it, then perhaps I could ask Luigi or the Princess?"

"What should we do?" the second asked the first.

"Let's let the Princess decide." The first looked back at Gancena. "Follow us, please."

"Okay."

The first guard led and the second beckoned for Gancena to follow. When Gancena started moving, the second guard fell in behind her. She understood.

The castle foyer was very familiar, with multiple doors to either side of the approaching party and a tall staircase in the center, leading up to a huge door. From the other side, a fairly loud voice could be heard nearly babbling.

The first guard knocked. "Excuse us, Your Highness." the first guard said.

"Yes?" came the voice of the Princess.

"A stranger has come looking to speak to one or both you and Luigi, Your Highness. She says she's looking for Mario but can't find him."

"Oh! Yes, one moment." A brief silence. The door opened and there stood Princess Peach, eternally pretty in pink. "Let her come in," she said.

"Yes, Your Highness," said the guard. Both guards stepped away from Gancena and returned down the stairs.

Gancena swallowed and stepped through, glancing at Luigi, puffy-eyed and wringing his hands. Gancena turned to close the door to see Peach already doing so. "Oh, let me—"

The door shut. "Hm? Oh, no, it's all right." Peach approached a huge desk and turned back to Gancena. "What did you have to say?"

"Uh… hi," Gancena managed.

Peach blinked. "Hello."

"My name's Gancena. I already know who you are. I mean, it's hard not to," she stammered. "But, uh, I'm looking for Mario."

"Well… he's not here. We're not sure where he is," Peach said.

"Eh?"

Peach turned to Luigi, still wringing his hands. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Luigi, maybe you should tell her what you told me."

"R-Right," Luigi said. "Well, uh, Mario had come up here yesterday—I mean, he does almost every day—we both do—but, uh, he never came home. I thought maybe something had happened and he had to start another adventure, because, well, i-it's happened before, but nobody seems to have seen anything like that, and I don't know where he is or if he's all right and nobody does and, uh—" Luigi stopped, his eyes glossing over with frantic tears.

"So Mario is missing?" Gancena said.

"Yes!" Luigi managed, voice warbling. He sniffed and wiped at his eyes. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"No, don't worry about that," Gancena said. She approached and put her hand firmly on his shoulder. "I'll find him, Luigi. I swear I will."

Luigi sniffed again. "Are you here to find him?"

"I think so. I think that's why I have this program on my phone…" she trailed, showing him and Peach the Roster screen. "Look, see? That first silhouette is Mario. And I'd have to guess that he's not the only one missing… I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happened to the other seven, too."

Luigi and Peach looked over the screen, taking it in. Peach asked, "What is this? Who sent you?"

"I don't know. It just appeared on my phone. I used it, and now I'm here. Look—" She switched back to the Maps tab and scrolled from their current location to the Mario Brothers' house. "See the little rip there? That's where I came through, but it was there before I even used it."

"Our house?" Luigi wondered aloud.

"Yeah. I haven't had much time to think over what it might mean." Then Gancena remembered the hidden four, and Melee. "But I also wanted to mention that this may just be the start of something big and strange."

"How so?" asked Peach.

"See…" _Oh, here we go._ She was going to have to break the news of the existence of the multiverse. She'd written about it plenty of times, and had thought about it many, many more times, but it was a different story when the reality was staring you in the face.

But, Gancena realized, Luigi and Princess Peach were some of the best people to explain it to. They'd had their fair share of weirdness come their way, including alternate worlds. Maybe.

So Gancena decided to rip the bandage off. "Where I'm from, your world exists only in video games."

"Video games?" Peach asked. "But you came here through a program on your cell phone?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I'm not sure where it came from, but it has to be related to video games. Very specific ones, at that. Look here…" Gancena pulled up the Roster tab, then thought about it and returned to the Maps, pulling back from the map of the Mushroom Kingdom. "See how these symbols are connected to totally different maps?" She zoomed in on Hyrule's map, the closest one that wasn't also linked to the Mario universe. "Each is connected to a different world that I saw in a different game. I mean, yours, Donkey Kong's, and Yoshi's are all connected—" Gancena stopped short.

There was a rip in Hyrule, far out in one of the fields.

"Why are these people being taken?" Peach asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I do know this: these eight first came together in a crossover between all their games where they would fight for sport."

"What kind of fighting? Is my brother gonna be okay?" Luigi immediately asked.

"He should. The fights aren't too rough. They're very… game-y. I'm not sure how to describe them. But, like, nobody is ever grievously injured or anything."

"Where do they take place? You said it was a crossover, right? Meaning anything from any of the original games can appear?"

"Yeah. There are various stages, and most of them are either in or around the worlds… I think. At any rate, they're certainly themed after the games…"

"That might explain what happened over Yoshi's Island," Peach said.

Gancena looked back up. "What?"

"People were describing it as a tiny floating island high in the sky. But when investigators flew closer to try and look, they couldn't get on it. They said it was like invisible walls were surrounding it…"

"That might be a stage…" Gancena thought aloud. She returned to the Maps tab and clicked on the one Yoshi's symbol was attached to. She saw a rip immediately, right above the silhouette of a large island. "A-ha!" she said, grinning. "I think I know where I need to go next, then."

"You think Mario might have gone there?" Luigi said.

"I'm not sure… but I agree with Her Highness. I think this tiny island people are talking about may be connected to what I'm trying to do, and _therefore_ to Mario's disappearance. Luigi. Princess Peach. I'm asking a lot of you by asking you to believe me. Do you?"

They paused. Peach brought a hand to her face and said, "Well, there's no other explanation for any of this right now. I suppose I do."

Gancena's brow furrowed. "You _suppose_?" she fretted.

"Well, no, I do. But even with what you told us, we still don't know much about what's going on. It's a lot to take in."

Gancena sighed. "Fair. But I thank you. There's a lot that could go wrong by trusting someone you just met, and yet you seem to be okay with that."

Princess Peach smiled. "It's our way."

"Oh, yeah," Luigi added. "It's how Mario and I knew that this place was home."

Gancena smiled at that. Then she continued, "Either way, you should keep an eye out for anything else odd just like this. I need to keep searching for Mario and the others, but I'd like to come back at some point tomorrow and check on you. Just in case. Is that okay?"

"Do you think whatever's happened to Mario could happen to us?" Peach asked.

"It's entirely possible. See… these eight were just the starting cast of one of the games in my world. Four more could be unlocked, and Luigi is one of them."

Luigi jumped. "Wah! Me?"

"Yeah. It's not the Mario Brothers without Luigi. But then in the sequel to that game, Princess Peach is part of the cast. So if the entire cast of this game is supposed to be gathered… I mean, the program's not asking me to look for you two, but it is asking me to look for Mario, and he's missing. I just want you to be careful… I sincerely don't know who or what took Mario."

"We'll all be careful, then," Peach said, lightly clenching her fists. "And yes, you can come back tomorrow. I'll make sure the guards know to let you in. In fact, let me…" Princess Peach dashed behind her desk, immediately took out stationery and a pen, and began writing.

"I, uh, I might be at home," Luigi said, "but please, come tell me if you learn anything about what happened to my brother."

Gancena nodded. "Sure thing. I'd best get to looking at that island. I'll tell you what I find tomorrow."

Princess Peach folded the stationery in half and took it to Gancena. "Here. Show this to any guard who questions you and they'll let you by."

Gancena peeked inside. The letter read:

 _This is Gancena. She has my permission to enter the castle to come speak to me._

 _-Princess Peach Toadstool_

Underneath was Peach's signature, light and elegant. Gancena smiled. "Thank you. And thank you for letting me speak to you."

Peach nodded. "Good luck."

"Many thanks, Your Highness. And Luigi: remember, there's a rip by your house. Be extra careful if you decide to go home."

Luigi stood a bit taller. "Right. Thank you. Be careful out there."

"You, too. Good night. And stay determined!"

Gancena turned and delicately opened the door, trying to think if there was something else she needed to add. She couldn't think of anything. She instead glanced back down at her phone as she shut the door behind her.

As Gancena descended the staircase, gently slipping Peach's letter into an outside pocket of her bag, she almost immediately tapped the rip above Yoshi's Island, but immediately remembered the warning about creating rips. It hadn't said anything about the dangers of _too many_ rips, just that there would be one created wherever Gancena activated the Navigator.

And while she'd initially thought about making a rip here, Gancena definitely didn't want to risk Luigi or Princess Peach or anyone nearby being endangered because she opened a rip in the middle of the castle. She wondered if going home first might be a better, safer route. She tapped the Home command at the bottom of the screen.

 _Warning: A rip will open at your current location. Return Home?_

That wasn't what Gancena wanted to do. She sighed.

 _ **No**_

Gancena supposed, then, that the safest thing to do was to go back to the Mario Brothers' house and use the rip there to get to Yoshi's Island.

Gancena tugged her satchel back into place and began the long march back.

* * *

Some time after, Luigi left the castle, realizing there wasn't much else he could think to do but keep his eyes open and wait for Gancena to come back. But he heeded her words about the rip near his house and entertained the idea of staying at the inn that night. Peach encouraged him to do so.

Peach herself remained in her room, thinking everything over. She wasn't particularly worried about being taken. That wasn't a new experience for her. But she was definitely worried about Mario and Luigi. There wasn't much else she could think to do for them, either.

What kind of people would Mario have to fight? Would he really be okay? And what if Luigi was taken and added to it, like Gancena had said? What if they had to fight each other?

And Gancena herself… Peach and the Mario Brothers had encountered plenty of people from plenty of odd places, all with their own goals and missions. Gancena seemed nice enough, and it was good to know that someone out there had a better idea of where to start looking for Mario, but even she seemed a bit unsure of what to do. Hopefully she'd find something without getting lost or hurt.

There was a knock at the door. "Princess Peach?"

"Yes, Toadsworth?"

"May I come in?"

"You may."

Toadsworth entered in a hurry, his cane held in his hand. "The guards have spotted a strange structure in the sky, much like the one above Yoshi's Island! Please come and see!"

Peach gently lifted the front of her skirt and immediately ran forward, Toadsworth following behind as quickly as he could. They dashed outside to the courtyard where multiple guards stared at the sky some way away from the castle.

Peach spotted it right away. It seemed small, resembling a castle spire with a few platforms around it. One platform attached to the spire moved slowly from one side to the other.

A small, floating island.

"Gancena…" whispered Princess Peach.


End file.
